Well! Here I am! I know this blog post is a bit late, but I have been so busy with my family I haven't had any time! So here we go. Exactly one week ago, I left language camp and took a train to Herne. The train ride was super crazy, because our first train ride was delayed! Just imagine about 15 exchange students, all with ridiculous amounts of luggage, in a busy German train station for the first time, trying to figure out how all the time tables work to get on the next train. Absolute insanity! Somehow, we all managed to figure out where to go and soon enough I was in Herne. My host family is wonderful. I have my own bed and bathroom, and there's a garden in the backyard with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and even a bee-hive with honey for our rolls in the morning.
Everything I've tasted since I left language camp has been amazing! From all kinds of home-made marmalade, to yummy German chocolate, to plum cakes; you can be sure I won't starve on this exchange! For breakfast we usually have rolls with an array of jams, nutella, honey, and cold-cuts to pick from. Then, at school we pack little sandwiches usually with butter and some kind of meat or cheese and a piece of fruit to snack on during breaks at school. When we get home, we have "Mittagessen," which is a lot larger than the regular lunch in America. It's more like having dinner, actually. Dinner is later, around eight or nine, and is usually lighter. Tonight my family and I are going to a traditional Bavarian restaurant so I can get a taste of authentic German food. And to think I was scared I would be doomed with all meat and potatoes for 10 months ;)
My first week of school went well, I basically shadowed my host sister around for the first week, and starting next week I'll have a more personalized schedule. At that point I'll do a big post about all my classes and how school here differs from America. But I've been making lots of friends, and everyone seems very interested in America! It's even popular to wear American flags on clothes. American scarfs, shoes, shirts, it's crazy! Their clothes all have English writing, the music on the radio is American, and a lot of the TV shows are American too! I found that a bit surprising.
My German is coming along, to think that I only started speaking it a month ago is astonishing. But at the same time I feel that my conversations are so limited now, I understand a lot better when people talk slowly, but even then I don't always know everything that's going on. Either way, I make huge strides every day. It seems like a long shot, but I know that sooner than later I will be speaking like I have lived here my entire life. It just all comes in small steps. Sometimes I feel like a child, which is basically where I am in my German right now. I love reading kids books and watching children's TV shows because I can understand a lot of what is going on! But everyone is so helpful and patient with me, and they all speak English really well, so when I need to know really important things and I don't fully understand in German, I'll ask for it in English. I'm here to learn German, so I try to stick with that for the most part. Like my mom said to me the other night, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." There is no point in staying in all day studying and hoping I'll learn, I just have to have as much fun as possible, soak in every opportunity, and with that, my German will flourish.
Herne is super beautiful, we are able to ride our bikes most places, including school and shopping. It's like were in this "city," but then at any moment you can hop on a trail and be next to a creek with lots of open space and big trees. Absolutely loving it. The other night while my host sisters Gesa and Hanna had basketball practice, Ina (my host mom) and I went on a jog around this little mountain where at the top there was a big sun dial type statue; you could see the entire town from the top.
This trip is definitely challenging, but I am taking every task step by step, and know that I have all the support in the world to lean on. And I'm having a great time through it all. That's all for now; but I promise I will begin to write posts more frequently!
Bis Später!
No comments:
Post a Comment